Cruising On The Crocodile's Back Craftsman Takes Hybrid Vessel On Peaceful Journeys To Nature's 'Church'

June 14, 1987|By Tom Pinnock of The Sentinel Staff

There is nothing Jack Flandreau loves more than cruising along a lake or river in his sleek wooden boat he made especially for Florida's waterways.

Flandreau's handcrafted vessel is something of a hybrid -- one part sailboat, a touch of kayak and a bit of canoe. He says the combination enables the 20-foot craft to navigate any of Florida's lakes or rivers without being bullied by foul weather or rough water.

''I call it the American crocodile,'' Flandreau said with pride. ''I think it's a good name. It's low and slinky in the water, and its nose is shaped a lot like a crocodile's.''

Flandreau, 40, envisioned something light enough to fit on the top of his pickup truck, yet large enough to hold two people with gear. And he wanted a versatile craft, capable of handling tight turns in small rivers or large swells in rough seas.

After months of searching, he decided there wasn't a craft like it to be found. Just when he was about to give up, Flandreau recalled boats he'd seen 20 years ago in the South Pacific, where he served as a diver in the U.S. Coast Guard.

It was around the Hawaiian Islands, Tahiti and the Philippines where Flandreau fell in love with the sea, and where he ran across natives scooting about in quick, but sturdy dugouts.

''They were amazing little boats,'' Flandreau said. ''The natives didn't hesitate to jump in them and sail from one island to the other.''

With those thoughts in mind, he set to work. The first step was a design, and he began three years ago researching all type of canoes and kayaks.

''I knew I wanted something like a kayak, only bigger,'' Flandreau,'' said. ''It had to be able to go anywhere, and be strong enough to take a beating.'' After months of tinkering with designs, he at last came up with a plan that eventually took $600 in materials and hundreds of hours to complete.

For most boating enthusiasts, the idea of shaping an assortment of wood into a boat is mind-boggling. For Flandreau, it was a work of love.

Flandreau is a self-taught woodcarver whose work ranges from restoring 100- foot yachts to carving eagles. His love for making furniture, repairing wooden homes, carving signs or making cabinets began as a hobby when he was 10 years old and has since turned into a successful business.

However, making a boat from scratch was a new experience for Flandreau. To meet his high standard, each step had to be done meticulously and, when a mistake was made, it was redone until it was right. It began with marine- plywood sideboards carefully clamped together and spread. He used American elm in stem and stern, white oak in the frame and placed thick coats of fiberglass atop the plywood hull.

Though the boat took Flandreau six months to complete, his pride in the final product shows as he explains each detail of construction.

Despite its name, this craft has something that crocodiles can only dream of. When the wind blows, Flandreau is quick to hoist a removable 13-foot mast that holds a 45-square-foot sail. He also attaches movable leeboards to give the flat-bottomed vessel stability. The rudder is controlled by a foot pedal. Even the paddles are unique. Each is covered in the middle by fancy rope work called a Turks head, a technique Flandreau learned while in the Coast Guard. A natural sponge from Tarpon Springs serves as a bilge pump.

Should the wind fizzle, the double-bladed paddles can propel the crocodile boat through the water. Onlookers are often amazed when they see Flandreau paddling his boat nearly as fast as a sturdy wind could push it.

Though Flandreau enjoyed building his craft, what he really likes is cruising Central Florida rivers.

''The boat doesn't make any noise,'' Flandreau said. ''That allows me to sneak up on deer, gators, otters and all kinds of animals.''

Friday morning Flandreau cruised effortlessly down the Wekiva River, steering his boat as straight as an arrow with the foot-operated rudder, sitting back in the cushioned seats, enjoying the turtles, fish, birds and raccoons he passed.

''Riding in the 'crocodile' is like sliding across the top of the river,'' he said. ''It sits that low.''

Heading west, and about a mile from Wekiva Springs, he turned into a small channel running northwest to Rock Springs. Although water was only 6 inches deep in places, the ''crocodile'' moved easily along, even with a cargo of 400 pounds.

Here was a place where people in rented canoes didn't go -- a less-traveled route with no beercans on the bottom. Stopping next to a fallen maple tree, Flandreau lit a cigarette and soaked in the sights and sounds of nature.

''This is my church,'' Flandreau said as he wiped water drops from the bottom of the boat with a sponge. When he squeezed the sponge, a tiny seashell no bigger than a bean fell out.

''Last time out I was in the ocean,'' Flandreau said with a chuckle. ''It does well out there, especially with the wind blowing and the sails flying.'' Since Flandreau launched the ''crocodile,'' dozens of people have asked him to make them one, but so far he hasn't gotten around to it.

''I would never want to mass produce them,'' he said. ''They have to be handmade, that way they keep their warmth.''